In 1942, telegrams always bring life-altering and tragic news in a war-hardened world -- and the one Maggie Marshall receives is no different. But running a restaurant with the help of only pregnant, unwed girls has taught her to be tough. Maggie's no weeping widow, but Charlotte Penfield thinks she's the most unfeeling woman on earth. Charlotte is seventeen, exiled by her wealthy parents, and working in the restaurant. She runs away with romantic notions of a reunion with her baby's father at his military camp.